Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding breast and cervical cancer among women of reproductive age residing in a rural area of West Bengal, India

Background and objectives: Developing screening programmes to lower breast and cervical cancer morbidity and mortality requires a better knowledge of psychological, socioeconomic, and environmental variables that may affect screening behaviours. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding breast and cervical cancer among women of reproductive age group in a village in West Bengal, India. Materials and methods: A descriptive type of observational study was conducted in village Muchisa of Budge-Budge II block, West Bengal among 300 women from January to June 2022 using a pre-designed, pre-tested, structured schedule by face-to-face interview method. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 using suitable descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 31.6 ± 7.4 years. Out of 300 women, 41.7% and 41.3% had adequate knowledge on breast and cervical cancer respectively. Regarding attitude, 57.3% and 75.3% had highly favourable attitude on breast and cervical cancer respectively. Only 38 (12.7%) had performed breast self-examination at least once whereas only 5.3% had undergone Pap smear test at least once before the survey. Socio-demographic and economic factors of the respondents were significantly (p<0.05) associated with knowledge on breast cancer while none of these factors were found to have statistically significant association with knowledge on cervical cancer. Conclusion: Most of the study population did not have adequate knowledge of breast and cervical cancer, their risk factors and symptoms. Their attitude was positive but practice related to screening was very unsatisfactory. IMC J Med Sci. 2023; 17(2):011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55010/imcjms.17.021 *Correspondence: Vineeta Shukla, Senior Resident, Department of Community Medicine, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, India; Email: vineeta1992@gmail.com